Erika L. Sanchez grew frustrated about not seeing herself reflected or reading about experiences like hers in literature; of feeling as if her Mexican-American culture and identity were not being taken into account.

"I grew up reading in English and I couldn't find myself in books,” said the Cicero-born author. “Sure, I read 'The House on Mango St.,' by Sandra Cisneros, but it was published the year I was born. I felt that, as a writer, it was my responsibility to write a story on the (current) struggles of being Mexican-American and (being) the daughter of immigrants. Yes, it is a common story, but it is not seen in literature or in the media.”

For the author —who, like Cisneros, is from the Chicago area and of Mexican origin— the concept of purity for a daughter in a traditional Mexican household, along with her own struggle against depression, inspired her to write "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.”

Her first novel and a New York Times best-seller that is now available in Spanish under the title "Yo no soy tu perfecta hija mexicana."

Julia Reyes, the teenage protagonist, is the youngest of two daughters and the antithesis of the perfect daughter that her mother expects. She is rebellious, disobedient, does not like to cook or clean, and is not a 'homemaker.’

She is essentially the opposite of her sister Olga, the "perfect daughter", according to their mother.

The life of the family changes with Olga's death and Julia will discover that her sister kept secrets when she was alive.

In the course of the story, Sanchez writes from Julia's perspective and with an honest, realistic and even sarcastic language that narrates living between different worlds that often clash. It touches on the relationship that immigrant parents have with their Americanized children, their connection to their country of origin, how they view themselves in a multifaced city like Chicago, interracial relationships, living in poverty, being the first one to go to college, and the transition into adulthood.

Just like Julia, Sanchez says that she is not the perfect daughter at all. The story, which she started to write in her twenties —she is currently 34— is partly her own story.

"I was a problem teenager. That is a common experience for young people, to feel like we do not belong in the lives of our parents, and more so in the Mexican-American community because, to them, we are very American and parents are still deeply rooted in the culture of their homeland," she said.

While the English version of the book gave voice to that generation and that identity, the Spanish version is more geared toward Mexican parents, Sanchez added.

"My mom finished reading it and she liked it a lot. I'm excited that it's in Spanish so many people can read it. Many Mexican mothers who do not understand their daughters may be able to learn something from the book and have more compassion for their 'Americanized' daughters," she added.

In the book, Sanchez also addresses depression, another one of her personal struggles.

"For me, literature was my way of escaping my reality. It is very comforting to get into another world. Books and writing saved me. It was hard to feel like life did not make sense. (So) writing was a way to transform the pain that I felt into something valuable and beautiful and that is the case for many young people," Sanchez shared.

But there’s an even bigger objective to her work, she said, which is to be a voice of the Mexican-American community.

"Unfortunately, historically we have been silenced and erased. Currently, many people are fighting against it, women of color and Latinx are changing the landscape. That is important," she said.

Sanchez said she was grateful for those authors who went before her, such as Cisneros, whom she described as an incredible person and writer, and who she said is fortunate to call her friend.

"I want to do the same for other young people. It (is important) to have people who offer to mentor and help others in the world of literature, which is very Anglo. We need to support, promote and buy the work from each other, give each other advice, make each other visible,” she said.

In the midst of that, Sanchez also aims to help change the stereotype a Latina as an exotic object in the U.S.

"I'm tired of it. We are intellectuals, we are writers; there is much more to us, Latinas, that people do not see. I need to be part of that change.”